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Demeter and PersephoneDemeter was an earth goddess and her daughter was Persephone. Hades, Lord of the Underworld, snatched Persephone, dragging her down to the Underworld to be his Queen. Demeter searched the world for Persephone, wandering far. Lost in her grief and rage, she paid no heed as the earth withered and cracked and the sky became filled with strange and wild storms. The farmers turned to Zeus for relief but even he could not ease Demeter's pain so Zeus had to order Hades to return Persephone. However, she had eaten in the Underworld, six pomegranate seeds, and so could not be completely freed. She must spend part of the year on earth with her mother Demeter and part of the year in the Underworld with Hades as his Queen. Demeter's joy at being reunited each year with her daughter shows in the flowers and crops that burst forth each spring; her grief at their separation in the long dark winters. |